Charter Oak High School holds groundbreaking for new pool

Joseph Probst, left, Jane Bock, Bob Cruz, Don Davis and Brian Akers, all of the Governing Board for the Charter Oak School District, during the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Charter Oak High School’s new aquatic center, at Charter Oak High School in Covina, CA., Friday, January 17, 2014.
James Carbone — Correspondent

The pool at Charter Oak High School in Covina is so small that the campus hasn’t been able to host a single championship game.

The facility has been untouched since the school’s opening more than 50 years ago. But thanks to a bond measure that was approved by the Charter Oak Unified School District Governing Board and approved by COUSD taxpayers; the school will have a brand new aquatic center by this time next year.

Staff and students from the school gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony for construction of the new pool on Jan. 17 at 1430 E. Covina Blvd.

“Getting a new aquatic center is something our district has wanted for quite some time,” said Mike Hendricks, superintendent of Charter Oak Unified School District. “Not only is the community very excited, but a lot of swimmer athletes are as well.”

The new building will be 3,000 square feet and include a team room, rest rooms, a concession counter, ticket room and equipment room.

However, the real improvement will simply be the pool itself, according to swim coach at the school, Tom Parslow.

“All our swimmers have talked about how badly we need a new pool,” said Parslow, who was a swimmer at the high school himself and has coached there for the past 14 years. “Not so much because it’s small and hard to work with big practices, but it’s falling apart. We’ve had issues with lighting fixtures or tiles falling off the pool and a number of other issues.”

The brand-new facility means a lot to the swim coach.

“For me, it’s exciting,” he said. “I would have loved to swim in a new aquatic center. Now it’s going to be fun as a coach to see our swimmers getting that new pool we’ve been waiting for.”

The approved bond also pays for other improvements in the district, including smart boards in classrooms, laptops for teachers and updated phone systems.

At least $47 million has been earmarked for these upgrades, with even more projects to come in the next few years. Hendricks said residents were willing to fund the measure through taxes because improvements to the schools upgrade the whole community.

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“When you have a great school district, property values are high, so there’s a benefit to the community as well,” Hendricks said.

But for staff and students at the high school, the benefit of the new aquatic center is direct.

Kathy Perkins, chief business officer for Charter Oak Unified School District, said it was nice to see students so stoked about the upgrade.

“I’ve been to at least three of the team meetings,” said Perkins, who discussed preliminary sketches of the aquatic center with the coaches and athletes. “There’s nothing like students and their excitement when they’re looking forward to something. It’s so much better to have them be interested in having this happen.”

The upgrade was a long time coming and means a lot to student athletes, according to Parslow.

“Our water polo team plays in smallest pool in California,” he said. “We were hoping this day would come and it’s finally a reality that’s happening. Everyone here is really excited that year from now we’re opening the gates to a new pool.”

This article has been updated from an earlier version to correct the positions of Mike Hendricks and Kathy Perkins.